i think we’ll rise again

As you all may or may not have known, I have been idly looking into creating a Browncoat-style costume for the past few months… Granted, I have nowhere to show it off (especially after missing ComiCon, much to my continual annoyance), but it is something to occupy my time and imagination. Of course, if anyone is aware of any decent costume contests in San Diego that do not require invitations, I might just be interested.
Moving on, I recently stumbled across the 76th Independent Battalion, an organization deadicated to carrying on the memories of Firefly and Serenity. Granted, this is not the 57th Overlanders Brigade (the “Balls and Bayonets Brigade”) to which Malcolm Reynolds himself belonged, but that would be kind of cheating to insert yourself right into the storyline like that… at least from my no-cosplay-experience point of view. At any rate, how does this organization go about bringing the light of Firefly civilization to the fuzzy-wuzzies? Well, think 501st Legion, only without the classy white uniforms (sarcasm implied) – basically, these volunteers plan on assembling uniforms to wear, and then assembling themselves at conventions, events, and suchlike around the country, and spreading the Good Word by presence and by showmanship, and I am all for it.
What really attracted me to the webpage, however, is the comprehensive and remarkably detailed explanation of how to construct a true-to-form Browncoat uniform. And, even better than the instructions themselves, they actuall provide links to online stores where one can procure some of the more-difficult-to-find items – something I had been searching for. Hell, they even provide you links to instructions to make your own chainmail sleeves, much like Zoe wore during the Battle of Serenity Valley – how much more detailed do you want?
On top of being a positively outstanding information source concerning the materiel and equipment necessary to put together an accurate Browncoat uniform, the 76th Brigade also seems like a rather worthy organization in and of itself – after all, it puts out information and publicity concerning Firefly, and there can be little wrong with that. In fact, I am a scant few inches away from putting in my own application myself… but I have a few qualms. First, my schedule and monetary constraints rarely support me being able to get to conferences/events (case in point: ComiCon), especially ones out of state. Second… and, well, the third reason are kind of intertwined. The second reason is actually just cost, but that dovetails nicely into the third.
One of the things that is easily noticeable in Firefly and Serenity is that the Independents, by the time they and the Alliance were exchanging blows on Hera, were pretty much as rag-tag as one could be, and still be considered an army. Any vestiges of honest uniform design had pretty much gone out the window, except for a few minor details like scarves, patches, and weaponry. And, hell, I can hardly blame them for that – you use what works, and when something of your clothing bites the big one, you replace it with whatever you have on hand, especially when you are losing the war by leaps and bounds. Whatever supply lines they may have had were no doubt nuked by the Alliance, and probably had been heavily disrupted for years, so getting mil-spec uniform items probably would have been a little difficult. That, and the Independents came from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and all worlds, and probably contributed heavily to their uniforms with whatever they had at home when they joined up.
What I am trying to say is that “standardized uniform” was probably one of the last things on the Independents’ minds. Their primary concerns were probably easy identification of each other, and differentiating themselves from the Alliance (not hard, given their German/Soviet uniforms). That said, the individuals in charge of the 76th Brigade seem intent upon creating just that – a standardized uniform. Now, I can certainly understand that when it comes to public events, a uniform (harhar) appearance give the most weight to your presence, but that has to be carefully weighed against the people you are portraying yourselves to be – if they are an off-the-wall, farm-bred, rag-tag buch of misfits throwing their lot in together to rail against an oppressive, nanny-state government intent upon subjugating the known universe, look like it. I mean, hell, take the brown coat, for example… An exact replica of the coat Mal wore while piloting Serenity is available through AbbyShot, and I have found that some of the best, cheap coats that are readily available and vaguely resemble your standard brown coat are Australian oilskin dusters – take off the stupid little cape, slap on a patch, and you are set. However, according to the 76th Brigade’s webpage, neither of these items would be acceptable.
Again, do not misunderstand me – a good impact is what you are looking for in a parade or other event, and looking as close to similar to each other as possible is the perfect starting point to do that. But I am also of the mindset that some degree of consideration should be made for those of us with neither the discretionary income, nor the skill with needle and thread, neessary to make something exactly the same as everyone else’s… much less the whole “room for creativity” thing. I dunno, I may be looking at this too much from the “cheap and easy” standpoint… I guess I am just not that much of a die-hard Firefly fan as I may have initially thought.
Any way you look at it, this organization is doing good things, and people are having fun doing them. Here is to hoping they keep flying, and increase their ranks as much as possible… who knows, I might just sign up one of these days.